Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 3.17
॥
Devanāgarī
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितं ।
सर्वस्य प्रभुम् ईशानं सर्वस्य शरणं सुहृत्
Transliteration (IAST)
sarvendriyaguṇābhāsaṃ sarvendriyavivarjitaṃ /
sarvasya prabhum īśānaṃ sarvasya śaraṇaṃ suhṛt
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासम्sarvendriyaguṇābhāsamdisplaying the properties of all the senses; reflecting the qualities of every organ
सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम्sarvendriyavivarjitamdevoid of all the senses; having no bodily organs
सर्वस्यsarvasyaof all; to everything
प्रभुम्prabhumthe Master; the Owner
ईशानम्īśānamthe Ruler; He who governs
सर्वस्यsarvasyaof all; to all
शरणम्śaraṇamthe refuge; the shelter
सुहृत्suhṛtthe good friend; the well-wisher of the heart
Translation
He displays the properties of all the senses, Himself being devoid of senses; He is the Master and Ruler of all, the refuge of all and a good friend.
Version
855a2f9f9e25 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
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The first half of the mantra resolves a contradiction that otherwise seems insoluble. He "displays the properties of all the senses" — sees, hears, smells, knows taste — and at the same time is "devoid of senses", that is, He has no bodily organs made of matter and subject to wear.
It follows that His seeing does not depend on an eye, nor His hearing on an ear. He does not perceive the world piecemeal as we do, assembling a picture from the reports of five messengers; He knows everything directly. The same thought Vedāntins will later expound, explaining that with Him the organs are Himself and not instruments attached to Him.
But the last word is the most precious. After four lines about lordship — prabhu, īśāna, "Master", "Ruler" — the mantra ends with two words of an entirely different order: śaraṇam and suhṛt. A refuge is what one runs to in trouble. A suhṛt is a "good heart", a friend at heart who wishes one well without any self-interest.
This juxtaposition is the very core of the Upaniṣad. Might that did not pass into goodwill would breed only fear; and therefore here, as at 3.2 where He is called the Herdsman, affection is named immediately after power.
The word suhṛt will later be taken up by the Gītā in its famous promise: knowing Me as the friend of all beings, one attains peace.